Method of and apparatus for producing tufted products



May 2, 1961 J. K. M CUTCHEN 2,982,240

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUFTED PRODUCTS Filed Aug. 21.1959 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

J JOSEPH K. McCUTCHEN WWW/L ATTORNEY May 2, 1961 J. K. M CUTCHEN2,982,240

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUFTED PRODUCTS Filed Aug. 21,1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

' JOSEPH K. McCUTCHEN A TTORNE Y BYH UniteciStates Patent METHOD OF ANDAPPARATUS FOR PRODUCING I TUFTED PRODUCTS v Joseph Kelly McCutchen, n. cBedspread (30.,

Ellijay, Ga.

Filed Aug. 21, 1959, Ser. No. 835,229 9 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) Thisinvention relates to a method of and apparatus for producing tuftedproducts.

An object of the invention is to provide a tufting machine and methodfor producing severed, and unsevered loops in the same row upon a fabiicbase.

i A further and more specific object of the invention is to providetufting mechanism including a loop-forming looper and a severing looper,and adjustable means associated with the severing looper and selectivelyoperable to permit the severing looper to enter the loop formed by theforming looperor to prevent the severing looper from entering such loop.

A further object is to provide tufting mechanism which may be embodiedin a single-needle or multiple-needle machine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention vw'll become apparentduring the course of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly diagrammatic, and

partly in, section, showing looper elements and associated parts of thetufting apparatus employed in the practice of the method.

Figure 2 is anenlarged fragmentary'side elevation of the tuftingapparatus, partly in section, and showing one operative position of theapparatus during the formation of severed loops upon afabric base.

Figure 3 is a further view similar to Figure 2 showing the apparatus ina subsequent operative position during the. formation of severed loopsupon the fabric base.

Figure 4 is a further fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatuswhen conditioned to form unsevered loops upon the fabric base.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of looper elements andassociated parts.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 6-6 of Figure2.

F-i4gure 7 is a similar view taken on line 7-7 of Figure Figures 8-13inclusive are diagrammatic views of looper elements and associated partsof the apparatus, showing the steps of the method for forming severedloops upon the fabric base.

Figures, 14-18 inclusive are similar diagrammatic views of the apparatusshowing the steps of the method for forming unsevered loops upon thefabric base.

Figure 2a is an edge elevation of the'tufting mechanism shown in Figure2. i

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 designates ahorizontal support or top, included in a supporting frame 11 of atufting machine.

A fabric base 12 travels upon the upper face of the top 10 and isintermittently fed to the right, Figure 1, as indicated by the arrows.The intermittent feed means forithe fabric base 12 may include feedrollers 13 and Patented May 2, 1961 14, which are turned in thedirection of the arrows by suitable means, not shown. This is the feedmeans shown in Patent 2,879,729 to I. K. McCutchen. The invention is notrestricted to any particular form of'fabr c feed means, however, and Ialso contemplate using the conventional: dog-feed means as shown inPatents 2,143,678 and 2,143,679 to Baggett et al. the fabric base '12 isstationary when the needle descends and passes through the same to forma loop upon the looper, and the fabric is advanced a step when theneedle is in the elevated position free of engagement with the fabricbase.

The numeral 15 designates a needle of the tufting mahorizontal rockshaft 20, which is driven by and suitably timed with the main driveshaft, not shown, of the tufting machine. Rigidly mounted upon the rockshaft 20 is a first or loop-forming looper 21, including an upstandingarm 22 and a generally horizontal bill 23, which extends in thedirection of travel of the fabric base 12. The horizontal bill 23 oflooper 21 enters the loop as it is formed upon the fabric base 12 andthe bill 23 does not have the usual down-turned hook at its free end, asshown in the drawings.

The numeral 24 designates a second rock shaft, spaced below the rockshaft 20 and parallel thereto and also adapted to be driven by andsuitably timed with the main drive shaft of the tufting machine; Rigidlymounted upon the rock shaft 24 is' a second or loop-severing looper 25,including a' generally L-shaped arm or crank 26 having an upstandingvertical portion 27.. Adjustably rigidly secured at 28 to the verticalarm portion 27 is the lower horizontal extension 29 of a looper element30, .having a vertical neck portion 31 and a horizontal bill 32.

As shown in the drawings, the looper element 30 carried by arm 26 isarranged in opposition to the looper 21, and as shown in Figure 2,the'horizontal bill 32 is positioned above the bill 23, in closelyspaced relation thereto during the operation of the apparatus. The bill32 faces opposite to the direction of travel of the fabric base 12. Thelooper element 30 and the looper 21 operate in the same vertical plane,as bestshown in Figure 5. The bill 32 of the looper element 30also lacksthe usual down-turned hook at its free end, commonly employed on tuftingmachine loopers.

An auxiliary bill 33, in the form of a rod circular in cross-section ismounted atop the looper bill 32 and extends longitudinally thereof andis journaled for rotation within bearings 34 and 35, securedrespectively to the looper element 30 and the top of the vertical arm27. At its leading end, and adjacent to the free end of the bill 32, theauxiliary bill 33 has rigidly secured to it a combined loop-retainingand displacing element or book 36.

The element 36 has a leading edge 37 extending diagonaily of thelongitudinal. axis of the auxiliary bill 33 and a rear or inner edge 38,adjacent to the free end of the bill 32 and extending at right angles tothe auxiliary bill 33. The element 36 is swingable vertically byrotation of the auxiliary bill 33 within its bearings 3435. When theelement 36 is positioned vertically as in Figure 2, its lower edge 39projects below the looper bill 32 so that the element 36 thenconstitutes a hook or retaining As should be obvious,-

In Figure 2, the element 36 is disposed slightly above the horizontalbill 23 of looper 21 and directly forwardly of the horizontal bill 32.The bill 32 and the auxiliary bill 33 carrying the element 36 face' in adirection opposite to the direction of travel of the fabric base 12, asshown.

The rear end of the rotary auxiliary bill 33 carries an integraltransverse extension or crank 40 extending at right angles thereto, andengageable with horizontal and vertical stops 41 and 42, rigidly securedto the top of arm 27. The extension 40 is diametrically opposite theelement 36 on the auxiliary bill 33, Figure 5, and extends beyond theside of the auxiliary bill remote from the element 36. The arrangementis such that when the crank 40 is swung downwardly into engagement withthe horizontal stop 41, the element 36 is horizontally disposed andprojects beyond corresponding sides of the bills 32 and 23, as bestshown in Figure 5. When the crank 40 is swung upwardly and into contactwith the vertical stop 42, Figure 2, the element 36 is arranged in avertical plane and depends from the auxiliary bill 33 in advance of thebill 32 and directly above the bill 23.

A spring 43 attached to auxiliary bill 33 and engaging the arm 27 servesto normally hold the crank 40 in the upstanding vertical position,against the vertical stop 42. A flexible element or cable 44 secured tothe crank'40 serves to swing the crank downwardly to the horizontalposition, wherein the crank engages the horizontal stop 41. It may thusbe seen that spring 43 serves normally to maintain the element 36 in thevertical depending position of Figure 2, and when the cable 44 istensioned the element 36 will be swung upwardly to the horizontalposition shown in Figures 4 and 5. While I have shown the cable 44 tomove the element 36 to the horizontal or inactive position, theinvention is in no sense restricted to this means, and the illustrationin the drawings is for the purpose of explaining the operation of asingle-needle mechanism employed in the practice of the method. I mayalso employ a multiple-needle machine with any preferred number of setsof the looper mechanisms shown in Figures 2 to 5, and where this isdone, the cranks 40 of the auxiliary bills 33 may be turnedautomatically or controlled by suitable pattern mechanism, or byelectronic control means, or the like.

With continued reference .to the drawings, the numeral 45 designates athird horizontal rock shaft spaced from and parallel to the rock shafts20 and 24, and driven by and in suitably-timed relation with the maindrive shaft of the tufting machine. The rock shaft 45 carries alaterally extending arm 46 rigidly secured thereto, and having a cutterblade 47 rigidly secured thereto in a conventional manner. The cutterblade 47 has a top cutting edge 48 which slidably contacts one side faceof the looper element 30. The cutting edge 48 is tensioned toward theadjacent side face of the looper element 30 by the inherent springinessof the cutter blade 47, as is conventional. The cutter blade 47 has aconventional shearing action with the lower edge 49 of looper bill 32 ofthe severing looper 25. This loop-severing arrangement is generallyconventional, and is shown in United States Patents 2,143,678 and2,143,679, to Baggett et al.

The rock shafts 20, '24 and 45 are turned in suitably timed order by themain drive shaft of the tufting machine, so that the loopers 21 and 25and the cutter blade 47 will reciprocate in proper timed relationshipwith the rise and fall of the needle and the intermittent feed of thefabric base 12. The timing means for the elements is conventional andwell known in the art, and need not be described herein. The looperelement 30 is bodily carried by the reciprocatory arm 26 and movestherewith as the rock shaft 24 turns upon its axis. The rock shaft 45imparts to the cutter blade 47 the proper oscillatory movement to effectthe severing of loops by the coaction of the cutting edge 43 and thebill 32 in a well known manner. The reciprocatory needle 15 passes closeto one side of the looper bill 23 when the needle is in the lowermostposition.

The operation of the tufting mechanism during the practice of the methodis as follows:

With continued reference to the drawings, particularly diagrammaticFigures 8 through 18, the method steps are as follows: When it isdesired to produce severed loops in a row upon the fabric base 12,tension on the cable 44 is relaxed, and the spring 43 maintains thecrank 40 in the vertical position against the vertical stop 42, and theelement 36 is held in the vertical depending position shown in Figure 2and in all diagrammatic Figures 8 through 13.

The needle 15 descends and passes the yarn through the fabric base 12,Figure 8, and the loopers 21 and 25 are now separated a maximum distanceand are at the outer end of their travel. When the needle 15 has reachedthe bottom of its down-stroke or has just begun to move up slightly,Figure 9, the bill 23 of loop-forming looper 2 1 enters the loop L closeto one side of the needle, and the loop L is now relaxed and open toreceive the bill 23, because the needle is just beginning to moveupwardly, and the tension in the yarn forming loop L is relaxed. At thissame time, Figure 9, the severing looper 25 is also beginning to traveltoward the moving looper 21. The cutter blade 47 remains in the inactiveposition.

With reference to Figure 10, while the needle 15 continues to moveupwardly, the looper bill 23 moves entirely into the loop L. Thesevering looper 25 has now moved to the position shown in Figure 10, andthe looper bill 32, auxiliary bill 33 and vertically-disposed element 36all enter the loop L, close to the top of the bill 23 and in the samevertical plane with the latter. The cutter blade 47 remains in theinactive position.

When the needle reaches the top of its up-stroke, Figure 11, theloop-forming looper 21 has moved rearwardly and the bill 23 without ahook is withdrawn from the loop L, and such loop is now transferred tothe bill 23 as shown in Figure 11. The cutter blade 47 remains in theinactive position.

The severing looper 25, Figure 12, now begins to move outwardly or awayfrom the looper 21, and the fabric base 12 is fed a step to the rightwhile the needle 15 is disengaged from the fabric base. The extent ofoutward movement of the looper 25 is such that the loop L tends to moveoff of the bill 32, but the down-turned element 36 now serves as a hookor retaining element to prevent the loop L from escaping from the bill32 as shown in diagrammatic Figure 12. The vertical edge 38 of theelement 36 is in the path of travel of the loop L to prevent the samefrom passing off of the free end of the bill 32. As shown in Figure 12,the cutter blade 47 has now begun to move toward its active orloop-severing position.

With reference to Figure 13, the loop-severing looper 25 is now at ornear the limit of its outward movement and the needle 15 is againbeginning to move downwardly. The looper 21 is also at or near itsoutermost position. The cutter blade 47 now moves to the activeposition, wherein the cutting edge 48 severs the loop L against thelower edge of the bill 32 in the conventional manner. When this occurs,the tufting mechanism returns to the condition shown in Figure 8 and thecutter blade 47 returns toward the inactive position and the needle 15continues to move downwardly to form a new loop by coaction with thelooper bill 23, Figure -9, in the manner previously described. This modeof operation of the mechanism during the practice of the method may becontinuous for any desired length of time, to form as many severed loopsor tufts in a row on the fabric base 12 as desired.

When it is desired to produce unsevered loops or tufts upon the fabricbase 12 as shown diagrammatically in Figures 14 through 18, the cable 44is placed under tension and the crank 40 is swung to the horizontalposition in contact with the horizontal stop 41, Figure 5. This po- Itis to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as' a pre-. ferred example of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts, aswell as changes in the order or sequence of method steps may be resortedto, without departing from the spirit of the ously described inconnection with Figure 8, except that the element 36 is in the lateralor horizontal position shown in Figure 5. In Figure 15, the looper bill23 enters the loop L, which loop is formed by the coaction between theneedle 15 and the. looper bill 23 as previously described. In Figure 16,the looper bill 23 has moved completely into the loop'L and the severinglooper 25 has reached the position where the bill 32 and auxiliary bill33 would normally enter the loop L as described in connection withFigure 10. However, due to the horizontal position of the element 36,Figure 5, the bill 32 and auxiliary bill 33 cannot enter the loop L whenthe parts reach their relative position shown in Figure 16.

The reason for this is that the leading horizontal diagonal edge 3-7 ofthe element 36 contacts the vertical sides of the loop L, in advance ofthe bill 32 and sweeps the loop L to the side, Figures 7 and 4, so thatthe bill and the auxiliary bill 33 directly above it do not enter theloop L, but instead, pass to one side of the loop as shown in Figure 7.The loop L,,however, remains upon the looper bill 23 at this time, asshown in Figure 16.

When the looper 21 moves outwardly as shown in Figure 17, its bill 23without a hook disengages or moves out of the loop L, and the loop L isnowfreed'entirely from the mechanism since it never received the looperbill 32 or auxiliary bill .33 with element 36.

It may now be seen that during the above described formation ofunsevered loops upon the fabric vbase 12, the element 36 functions as aloop-displacing or pushing element, which sweeps the loop to one sideand prevents the looper bill 32 from entering it. The parts now move totheir relative positions shown in Figure 18, which corresponds to Figure13, and while the cutter blade 47 moves automatically to the severing oractive position relative to the bill 32, no severing takes place becausethe loop L was never transferred by themechanism to the bill 32 orauxiliary bill 33. Once the loop L slides off of the bill 23, Figure 17,the tension in the yarn forming the loop is relaxed and the loop springsupwardly toward the fabric base 12 as shown in Figure 18. This maintainsthe unsevered loops L upon the fabric base far enough above'the loopermechanism, so that the looper bills can never reenter the unseveredloops as the fabric base continues its intermittent move ment to theright. I v

The above cycle of operation in connection with Figures 14 to 18 mayrepeat itself continuously for any desired length of time during whichit is desired to form unsevered loops in a row upon the fabric base.When it is desired to again form severed loops in the same row upon thefabric base, it is merely necessary to relax the tension on the cable 44and allow the spring 43 to return the element 36 to its normal verticaldepending position shown in Figure 2 and in Figures 8 through l3. Bymanipulating the cable 44 or through the operation of suitable patterncontrol mechanism well known in the art, the element 36 may bepositioned at will to coact with the remainder of the mechanism toproduce either severed or unsevered loops upon the fabric base 12 inthesame row and in the desired sequence.

While 'I' have described the method ofproducing severed or unseveredloops upon the fabric base in terms of a single-needle mechanism, itshouldbe obvious that the same method may be practiced by means of amultipleneedle mechanism. When this is done, the desired invention orscope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention I claim: 1. In a tufting machine, a'work support, means to' feed a'fabric base intermittently over the worksupport,

a reciprocatory needle to sew loops in the fabricbase,

a loop-forrning looper including a bill to enter the loops sewnin thefabric base, means to reciprocate said looper, a loop-severing looperarranged in opposition to the loopforming looper and including a bill toenter the loops with the bill of the loop-forming looper, means toreciprocate the loop-severing looper, and auxiliary bill mounted forrotation near the bill of the loop-severing looper and having a crankpart, a loop-retaining and displacing element carried by the forward endof the auxiliary bill adjacent the free end of the bill of theloopsevering looper and having a diagonal leading edge, said elementadapted to extend vertically below the bill of the loop-severing looperin one adjusted position, and also adapted to extend laterally of thebill of the loop severing looper in another adjusted position, controlmeans for the auxiliary bill to rotate the same in opposite directionsupon its longitudinal axis, and movable' cutter means associated withthe loop-severing looper and op erable to sever the loops upon the billof the loop-severing looper when said element is positioned verticallyto retain said loops upon the looper. I

2. In a tufting machine, a work support, fabric feed means, areciprocatory needle to sew loops into a fabric base, a first looperarranged near the work support and needle and including a bill to enterthe loops as they are formed in the fabric base, means to reciprocatethe first looper in timed relation with the reciprocation of the needle,a second looper arranged in opposition to the first looper and having abill to enter the loops already engaged upon the bill of the firstlooper, meansto .reciprocate the second looper, selectively controlledmeans carried by the second looper and including an element adapted tobe positioned vertically to enter the loops with the bill of the secondlooper or to be positioned horizontally to shift the loops aside andthereby prevent entry of said element and bill of the second looper intothe loops while the latter are engaged .upon the bill of .the firstlooper, a cutter blade for coaction with the bill of the second looperto sever loops thereon, and means to reciprocate the cutter blade intimed relation with the first and second loopers and said needle.

3. A method of producing severed and unsevered loops in a row upon afabric base, comprising the steps of forming in succession a pluralityof loops upon the fabric base and applying each loop when formed to afirst reciprocatory looper element, transferring each loop in successionfrom the first looper element to a second reciprocatory looper elementand holding the transferred loops upon the second looper element,severing the loops upon the second looper element while the loops areheld thereon to provide severed loops upon the fabric base, forming insuccession a further plurality of loops upon the fabric base andapplying each of the last-named loops when formed to said first looperelement, displacing each loop on the first looper element to one, sideabove the first looper element to thereby prevent transfer'ring of theloop from the first looper element to the second looper element, andremoving each loop in sucsession from the first looper element toprovidenun severed loops upon the fabric base. V 4. In a tufing machine,a work support, means to feed a fabric base intermittently over the worksupport in one direction, a reciprocatory needle to sew loops into thebill of, the loop-severing fabric base, a first looper arranged belowthe work support and needle and having a bill facing in the direction oftravel of the fabric base to enter the loops as they are formed in thefabric base, means to reciprocate the first looper in timed relationwith the reciprocation of the needle, a second looper arranged oppositethe first looper and having a bill facing opposite to the direction oftravel of the fabric base to also enter the loops formed in the fabricbase, means to reciproate the'second looper, a movable element carriedby the second looper and having a diagonal part to engage loops upon thefirst looper and push such loops to one side so that the second looperwill not enter the loops upon the first looper when said movable elementis in the active position, said movable element having an inactiveposition relative to the second looper to allow the second looper toenter the loops upon the first looper, said movable element then servingas a hook to retain loops upon the second looper and to elfect transferof the loops from the first looper to the second looper duringreciprocation of the loopers, means to shift said movable element fromthe inactive to the active position, and means coacting with the secondlooper to sever loops thereon.

5. 'In a tufting machine, a work support, fabric feed means, areciprocatory needle to sew loops into a fabric base, a first looperarranged near the work support and needle and including a bill to enterthe loops as they are formed in the fabric base, means to reciprocatethe first looper in timed relation with the needle, a second looperarranged opposite to the first looper and having a bill to enter theloops upon the fabric base while said loops are engaging the firstlooper, means to reciprocate the second looper in timed relation withthe needle and first looper, and a movable element carried by the secondlooper and having active and inactive positions relative to the secondlooper and adapted when in the active position to enter the loops withthe second looper, said element being unable to enter the loops withsaid second looper when arranged in the inactive position, means to movesaid element from the active to the inactive position and vice-versa,and cutter means associated with the second looper to sever loopsthereon while said element is in the active position.

6. In a tufting machine, a work support, means to feed a fabric baseintermittently over the work support, a reciprocatory needle to sewloops in the fabric base While the latter-is stationary relative to thework support, a first reciprocatory needle arranged below the fabricbase and work support and having a bill extending in the direction offeed of the fabric base and adapted to enter the loops as they areformed in the fabric base by the needle, a second reciprocatory looperarranged in opposition to the first looper and having a bill extendingin a direction opposite to the direction of feed of the fabric base,said bill of the second looper adapted to enter the loops while they areengaged upon the bill of the first looper, a movable element associatedwith the second looper and including a loop engaging part positionednear the bill of the second looper, said element and loop engaging parthaving active and inactive positions relative to the bill of the secondlooper, the loop engaging part adapted to enter the loops with the billof the second looper while in the active position to thereby transferloops from the bill of the first looper to the bill of the second looperand to subsequently retain such loops upon the bill of the second looperfor severing, said loop engaging part when in the inactive positionbeing unable to engage the loops upon the bill of the first looper withthe bill of the second looper and thereby not retaining loops upon thebill of the second looper, means to shift said element and part to andfrom the active and inactive positions, and means to sever loops uponthe bill of the second looper when said element and part are in saidactive position.

7. In a tufting machine, a work support, means to feed a fabric baseintermittently over the work support, a reciprocatory needle to sewloops into the fabric base, a first reciprocatory looper arranged nearthe work support and needle and having a bill to enter the loops formedupon the fabric base, a second reciprocatory looper arranged inopposition to the first looper and having a bill to enter the loopsformed upon the fabric base while said loops are engaged by the bill ofthe first looper, a reciprocatory element carried by the second looperand having active and inactive positions relative to the bill of thesecond looper and adapted when in the active position to enter the loopswith the bill of the second looper, said element when in the inactiveposition being unable to enter the loops, means to reciprocate theelement to and from the active and inactive positions, and means tosever the loops upon the bill of the second looper while said element isin said active position.

8. A method of producing severed and unsevcred loops upon a fabric base,comprising the steps of forming in succession a row of loops upon hefabric base and applying each loop in the row when formed to the bill ofa first looper, transferring each loop in the row in succession from thebill of the first looper to the bill of a second looper and retainingeach transferred loop upon the bill of the second looper, and thensevering each loop in succession while the latter is upon the bill ofthe second looper to provide severed loops upon the fabric base, formingin succession in the same row additional loops upon the fabric base andapplying each such loop when formed to the bill of said first looper,moving the first and second loopers relatively in the manner to normallyefifect said transfer of loops from the bill of the first looper to thebill of the second looper but engaging the loops upon the bill of thefirst looper during said transfer movement ofthe loopers to push asidethe loops upon the bill of the first looper and thereby preventing theirtransfer to the bill of the second looper, and then removing insuccession each loop from the bill of the first looper to provideunsevcred loops upon the fabric base.

9. A method of producing severed and unsevcred loops upon a fabric base,comprising forming a plurality of loops upon the fabric base andapplying each loop when formed to the bill of a first looper,transferring each loop in succession from the bill of the first looperto the bill of a second looper and retaining each transferred loop uponthe bill of the second looper and severing each transferred loop uponthe bill of the second looper, forming a further plurality of loops uponthe fabric base and applying each such loop when formed to the bill ofsaid first looper, moving the first and second loopers relative to eachother in the manner which normally transfers loops from the bill of thefirst looper to the bill of the second looper, substantiallysimultaneously deflecting laterally each loop upon the bill of the firstlooper to push the loop out of alignment with the bill of the secondlooper and thereby preventing transferring of the loop to the bill ofthe second looper, and then removing in succession each loop from thebill of the first looper to provide unsevcred loops upon 0 the fabricbase.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,879,728 McCutchen Mar. 31, 1959 2,879,729 McCutchen Mar. 31, 19592,882,845 Hoeselbarth Apr. 21, 1959

